


i want to make something better

by Princex_N



Category: Bill & Ted (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Road Trips, Sleepy Cuddles, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princex_N/pseuds/Princex_N
Summary: It's a shitty smelly van, cramped and cold and loud, and Bill loves it more than he'd ever loved the roof of his father's house over his head.
Relationships: Elizabeth & Joanna & Ted "Theodore" Logan & Bill S. Preston Esq., Ted "Theodore" Logan/Bill S. Preston Esq.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 93





	i want to make something better

**Author's Note:**

> still haven't seen Face the Music but we've split off from the ending of Bogus Journey anyway so like, who cares

It's nearing something like three in the morning and even with the radio blaring some excellent tunes, Bill is finding himself fading fast behind the wheel. 

They're in the middle of their first tour now, finally making their way out of California and further east for the first time, and it's one of those things Bill isn't sure will ever get old. Definitely one of those things he hopes never does. 

The driving, on the other hand, has most _definitely_ passed its prime. 

It's supposed to be Ted's job to help keep him awake - because what else is the passenger seat _for_ if not for helping the driver with directions and general entertainment - but he'd passed out some ten minutes ago, head craned back against the door. They've had the driving turns for most of the night, and since Bill had only taken over a few hours previous he hasn't quite had the heart to wake him up yet, even though he's gotta be uncomfortable as all hell with his neck like that. 

Bill's half-considering pulling over to the side of the road and calling it quits for a bit. He can't tell if it's too early to switch drivers again, mostly because the dashboard clock is busted and he can't remember what time the babes were driving last anyway, but he's got to do something if he doesn't want to risk crashing the van. Even though they'd parted on good terms with Death, he gets the feeling the games tournaments wouldn't end so nicely a second time. 

Thankfully, salvation comes in the form of a sign advertising the rest stop coming up in five miles, and _that_ chance Bill is willing to take. 

He reaches over to jostle Ted awake, grinning tiredly at the choked surprised noise the other man makes as he gets briefly tangled in his seat belt. "Mind getting the babes up?" he asks once Ted finally settles down into blinking tiredly at him in the dim lights of the headlights. "Rest stop's coming up; if we don't switch off soon I'll fall asleep behind the wheel." 

"Bogus," Ted comments sleepily, wiping the grit out of his eyes with the flat of his palm. Bill wonders if he's also thinking of the lecture Missy had given them on the dangers of exhausted driving before they'd started their tour (it'd been one of the only departing conversations they'd gotten, so it was doubly memorable). After a moment he twists in his seat to look around the back, trying to figure out where the girls wound up over the past handful of hours. 

(Some part of Bill had worried, when everything was changing during that initial break from their first show, that the girls wouldn't stick around if they weren't all dating. Instead Bill thinks it's worked out better than it ever would have otherwise, and he's kind of glad for it. Even if the princesses do still complain about the lack of 'courtship' opportunities with other ladies while out on the road. Bill's pretty sure they've got a solid stack of phone numbers piling up though.) 

"We're pulling over soon?" Bill hears from the back, straining over the Queen, so he goes ahead and turns down the music since the knowledge of the upcoming stop has given him a sort of second (or maybe third?) wind. 

"Yeah, Bill said he saw a sign," Ted says around a yawn, slumping back in his seat the right way, hand wound around the seat belt. 

"Not you?" one of the girls - Elizabeth probably - asks with a drowsy sort of amusement, and the guilty look Ted shoots between her and Bill makes her laugh. 

Bill grins at him too, offering his hand over the center console and holding back a laugh at the puppy dog grin Ted gives him in return as he takes it. 

They pull into the rest stop parking lot, almost eerily empty but Bill hardly minds. The feeling of being able to finally stretch his legs out, spine and knees popping enthusiastically, is a good enough exchange for not being able to make any small talk with other people passing through. The four of them usually try to make sure at least one person stays with the van every time they stop somewhere, but Bill lets the other three sort that out while he makes a beeline for the restrooms. Call it driver's privilege. 

By the time Bill gets back from the mess of the bathrooms, the girls have already gotten settled in the front to go over the map while Ted is falling asleep against the side of the van, partially propped up by Joanna's open door. He never gets into the back first these days, always waits to let Bill pick where he wants to settle amongst all the gear first, even though Bill has told him that he's _pretty_ sure being taller means they're _supposed_ to be the other way around (not that Bill ever presses it though really; he thinks he probably prefers it this way too). 

"You ready to sleep?" Bill asks, clasping a hand on his shoulder just as Ted threatens to start slipping down towards the concrete. He gets a mute nod in response, which is pretty normal 'cause Ted always has had a harder time with words when he gets real tired like this. 

Bill climbs into the back, kicking off his shoes and letting them settle somewhere in the mess before clambering over to the little pad made out of dirty clothes and shitty blankets. The makeshift cot isn't much, and it kind of smells honestly (though with how much time they spend living out of the van, they all kind of do really), but it's comfortable in a way a pristine mattress never could be. Or maybe it's just more comforting than comfortable, but like, same difference really. 

(Every once in a while someone asks why they don't spend more of the money they've made from the shows to get better shit, but they haven't bothered yet and don't really plan to. A lot of that money they don't even keep anyway - Bill knows all about the way money rots your brain, and none of them are very interested in _that.)_

(Plus, if they upgrade to something better, they might run out of excuses. Not to mention they'd _totally_ lose touch with their style and audience. So like, why even bother?) 

Bill crashes onto the pad, eyes already slipping shut while he listens to Ted clumsily yank the back doors closed and nearly trip over Joanna's drumsticks (she makes a sharp noise and Ted gathers them up to pass them to her guiltily. 50/50 chance they'll wake up to her either drumming on the dashboard or on the forehead of anyone who rolled too close to her seat). 

Bill's not surprised when Ted clumsily maneuvers his way into the cot instead of bothering with the only seat back here, dragging himself over Bill's chest and getting all of his fucking hair caught in Bill's face as he ducks his head against Bill's chest to hide his eyes from the streetlamps. 

(They'd settled into each other not long after the princesses had split off from them both. The babes' revelation in their taste for women (and most _excellent_ punk style) had prompted similar self-examination in the boys. It had seemed nearly obvious once they'd put it together, but lots of things never really get said out loud between the two of them - they've never really needed it to be on the same page.) 

"Dude, your fucking hair," Bill gripes, mostly teasing, but Ted's already asleep again, curled almost small against Bill's side, snoring softly. He's slack and warm, breaths rasping against the back of his throat in exhales that warm the inside of Bill's wrist, and Bill has to quickly shift his hand down to Ted's hood so that the emotion that wells up in him doesn't make him accidentally yank on a fistful of Ted's hair. 

Bill loves this man so fiercely that he's equal parts bewildered and not surprised at all that it'd taken him nearly fifteen years to notice it was there. 

He spits the hair already getting into his mouth free with marginally fond annoyance, going ahead and manhandling Ted into a more comfortable position for them both, comfortable in the knowledge that he probably won't wake up at all. The back of the van still gets cold at night, and Elizabeth's habit of stealing the best blanket to drape over herself like a cape means that the closeness technically serves more than one purpose (which is why Bill won't ever be the one to push the idea of upgrading the van any time soon). 

Most of the time Bill wakes up with his back aching and his arm numb from being trapped under Ted's weight for so long, the sound of Joanna and Elizabeth chattering and flipping through tapes or radio stations ringing in his ears, happier than he's ever been in his whole life. (Happier than he ever used to imagine himself being when he was being honest as a teenager). 

It's cramped and smelly and cold and hell on his joints, and Bill wouldn't trade it for anything. 

**Author's Note:**

> the princesses took their 16 month break to become Supreme Crustpunk Dyke Central ([which i've drawn here lol](https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7w00pAU0j/)), i've heard they get more screentime in ftm but i'm giving them their own characters myself anyway
> 
> also if anyone has any fic requests please feel free to comment or send them in to [my tumblr](http://www.princex-n.tumblr.com)!! no Guarantees but i love these dudes and want to keep writing about them!!


End file.
